The Town that Zombies Built

For the past six years, the town of Jasper, Alabama has been subjected to the whims of a crazy lady creating a low budget zombie movie. Now, they are being subjected to the crazy whims of SyFy documenting the crazy lady creating a low budget zombie movie.

If you love terrible reality tv and terrible zombie movies, this show will rock your socks off. It’s like watching Honey-Boo-Boo and her family make a zombie movie. Except more endearing, because, dear lord, are these people dedicated to Thr33 Days Dead – the proposed (and terrible) title of their movie. Apparently, the lead actor even turned down a role as an extra on the Walking Dead to pursue his passion. It does beg the question as to why he couldn’t just do both, but it does indicate the single minded pursuit of a dream: A dream to make a zombie movie about 3 good ‘ol boys finding that the zombie apocalypse struck while they were gone fishin’.

The show was sold as a town coming together to create this movie, but in fact, the town as a whole seems pretty aghast at the entire affair. The group of would-be movie makers seem eternally optimistic about their town’s endorsement for their endeavor – support shown only through the townsfolk being too polite to arrest them for their antics or to forcibly evict them from stores where the group tries to recruit new zombies. The support being shown seems far more in the “bless their hearts” version of southern hospitality than any kind of actual enthusiasm for their cinematic vision.

And, really, why wouldn’t the city council be a bit dismayed about this motley crew wanting to blow up a boat on their picturesque lake?

Maybe because they had to blow it up twice because they blew it up too early the first time?

Or maybe because their self styled “explosions expert” appears to be a teenager with pyromaniac tendencies?

This seems to be a recurring theme for the makers of Thr33 Days Dead – they were forced to redo at least two other scenes because the director “didn’t get the shot.”

Despite, or maybe because, of these shortcomings, there is no question that the show’s protagonists are charming. And the juxtaposition of normal town life with random zombies going about normal business is unendingly hilarious.

Like many of SyFy’s other forays into this geek version of reality tv, it won’t appeal to everyone, but it will probably appeal to the same people who find this funny: